last sunday on the beach.....still so hot!










































and this is one of Lucca centre shops with Puccini memoris in the window shop: in the honour of the great composer 150th birthday!

enjoying autumn in Tuscany....

.......despite all world economic and political problems, despite the fear we could feel thinking about the future, the sun is still high here in Tuscany, and this makes us feel better and hopeful.

Autumn still has summer temperatures, we can still enjoy outdoor activities, discover or re-discover our traditions, share experiences with people from all over the world

last week-end I was, as every year this month, at "Boccaccesca" in Certaldo, the food and wine exhibition taking place in the charming village of Certaldo, Boccaccio place of birth.

food&wine were of course really great, going around in the streets was so nice, especially because we went there in the morning: starting from the afternoon the were floods of people arriving, and very long lines at the ticket counter. If you arrive in the morning you enjoy the event at its best

I bought "prosciutto di cinta" a special kind of ham made with "cinta" porks, cheeses, truffles, mushrooms, tasted different wines and olive oils, a variety of cakes, including "cannolo siciliano", the typical cake from Sicily, this year partner of the event.
















there were also kids playgrounds and special areas, traditional medioeval games, cooking workshops....

life sometimes is really simple, just a group of friends, good food and wine, a sunny day can make the difference. And gives the strenght to keep on dreaming......

our last trip to Apulia

the colours of emotions

More than words we should only use pictures to tell you about our latest trip to Apulia.

I was there with a customer, the American photographer Lilian Haidar, in order to make a first scouting tour. Our aim was to show a different image of Apulia, the closest to local people and to its treasures.

We flew from Pisa airport to Bari, and there rented a car. Our first stop was on the coast between Fasano and Ostuni, on the seaside of Torre Canne. I showed Lilian all the best places I knew, as masserie (old farmhouses now in part transformed into relais), beach resorts, olive groves, sea-orchids stalls on the coast.

We spent the first afternoon visiting the beautiful village of Polignano a Mare, where world famous singer Domenico Modugno was born, and where the view on the sea is really stunning.

We also visited the atelier of Peppino Campanella, very famous lamp designer, using glass to create forms and lights.

After some years I was back to the beautiful white city of Ostuni, and it was as if I saw it for the first time. Its beauty stunned my travel mate, she took hundreds of pictures, we walked a lot in the city "casbah"....unique!
We spent three days in this area, but we were awared that we needed at least 3 weeks!

Then we drove South to Lecce, and reached the small village of Martignano, one of the villages forming "Grecìa Salentina" an area of Salento where a special greek dialect is spoken, where the architectures are baroque with a special taste, where people are direct, full of passion, love their land, music and dance. Music and dance was one of the reasons why we went there: music and dance are the phocus of the event "La Notte della Taranta", a night devoted to traditional music, dance, poetry. It is actually a full week of events, ending up with "concertone" in Melpignano, a big event, where traditional players and celebrities play the same music.....if you want to have an idea look at this videos

the experience has been fantastic!

We then reached Lecce on St. Oronzo celebrations, you cannot see the real city on those days, as long as streets are too crowded and full of market stalls, but still it was a nice experience......

When staying in Martignano we also could reach the beach by 20 minutes bus ride, which was very comfortable when I was working with Haidar and the rest of the "gipsy party" could go swimming. Lilian Haidar named our group of traveller made by 4 women and 1 kid of 4 years (my son!) as "the gipsy party" as long as we moved a lot and we have tons of luggage!

Otranto was our last night in Salento, a fantastic city to be visited out of season.

Waiting to see the fantastic pictures Haidar took, I keep dreaming about Torre dell'Orso crystal clear sea waters, beautiful Alimini beach..... I call that feelings "the colour therapy", that blue is so intense, with many nuances, but each take care of your spirit in a different way, and makes you feel that there is something perfect.

This story must be continued, as well as the trip!